Mayer Twersky

Mayer E. Twersky (born October 17, 1960) is an Orthodox rabbi and one of the roshei yeshiva at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University. He holds the Leib Merkin Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy.[1] His popular lectures emphasize a combination of penetrating conceptual analyses and deep ethical imperatives.

Twersky hails from the well-known chassidic family of Chernobyl. He is the younger son of Isadore Twersky. His brother, Moshe Twersky, was murdered in the 2014 Jerusalem synagogue massacre. He is a 5th cousin of Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski. Other cousins include the Grand Rabbis of Chernobyl, and many people with the last name of Twersky or Twerski. He is also a grandson of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik.

Twersky attended the Maimonides School, which his grandfather founded,[2] through high school. He then attended Harvard College, while studying Talmud privately with his grandfather. Following college, he studied for rabbinic ordination at RIETS. He eventually became a teacher in the Yeshiva University High School for Boys and later a lecturer in RIETS.

In addition to Hebrew articles in RIETS's annual Torah journal, Twersky has published three English articles in the journal Tradition[3][4][5] and an English article in the Orthodox Union's magazine Jewish Action.[6] Two of these four articles relate to the place of women in contemporary Orthodox Judaism.[5][6]

Twersky currently holds the position of Grand Rabbi of the Talne hasidim. The current shamash of the Rebbe is Meir Zev Steinmetz of Woodmere, New York. Steinmetz spent a significant amount of time studying in Yeshivat Hakotel (located in Jerusalem, Israel) before coming to Yeshiva University to serve as the Rebbe's shamash.

Twersky is currently on the board of TorahWeb,[7] which frequently publishes short English articles of his.[8] He also lectures frequently to synagogue congregants.

References

  1. ↑ "Roshei Yeshiva". Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Our History". Maimonides School. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  3. ↑ Mayer Twersky. "Halakhic Axiology within the Sefer Ha-Hinnukh". Tradition. Rabbinic Council of America. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  4. ↑ Mayer Twersky. "A Glimpse of the Rav". Tradition. Rabbinic Council of America. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Mayer Twersky. "Halakhic Values and Halakhic Decisions: Rav Soloveitchik's Pesak Regarding Women's Prayer Groups". Tradition. Rabbinic Council of America. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mayer Twersky. "The Moon's Lost Light". Jewish Action. Orthodox Union. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  7. ↑ "About Us". TorahWeb.org. Retrieved April 3, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Rabbi Mayer Twersky". TorahWeb.org. Retrieved April 3, 2011.

Online Speeches

Online Articles